Business

About 69% of Union County homeowners saw a decrease in property values in the latest countywide revaluation. The first-ever decrease in property values could lead to a higher tax rate. Homes worth $1 million or more were impacted the most, according to Tax Administrator John Petoskey.

Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Acme Smoked Fish has opened its 100,000-square-foot plant in Pender County, where it plans to produce 10 million pounds of smoked salmon per year. More than 50 people work at the plant, and the company plans to add more jobs as production increases. The company said in 2013 it would invest up to $30 million and hire 120 workers in Pender County.

Raleigh-based Yadkin Bank named Robert Lippert director of information technology. Lippert was vice president of information technology for Winston-Salem-based Allegacy Federal Credit Union and previously served as director of retail systems for Mooresville-based Lowe's. He will be based in Elkin.

Endo International has made a takeover bid for Salix Pharmaceuticals for $175 per share in cash and stock. Salix reached a deal last month for Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals to acquire the company for $158 a share in cash. Endo, which has made six acquisitions since February 2014, moved its headquarters from Pennsylvania to Dublin last year.

Industry website Autoblog.com reports that Jaguar Land Rover will delay building a new U.S. factory for about three years, and Volkswagen announced Monday it will invest $1 billion in a plant in Mexico where the company will build its Tiguan sport-utility vehicles. With Mercedes opening a $500 million plant near Charleston, S.C., that only leaves Volvo as a strong candidate for a North Carolina auto plant.

The Federal Reserve gave Bank of America permission to repurchase $4 billion in common stock, but the Charlotte-based bank must fix problems with its capital planning process. The bank has six months to address the issues, which were uncovered in its annual "stress test," but regulators will allow it to begin repurchasing shares in the second quarter.

Apple recently filed a permit for a new data center at its Maiden campus, where the Cupertino, Calif.-based company already operates a 500,000-square-foot data center and two tactical ones. Plans show the new data center would measure more than 114,300 square feet. The permit also identifies an area for future expansion. Apple has invested more than $500 million in the Catawba County campus, according to its website.

With earnings totaling $100 million in 2014, Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan topped Forbes magazine's second annual list of highest-paid retired athletes. Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who also has a stake in one the largest Bojangles' franchises, came in fifth, earning $23 million.

The University of Virginia Health System and Winston-Salem-based Novant Health are talking about forming a regional health system in northern Virginia. The proposed agreement would involve UVA Culpeper Hospital and Novant's Virginia facilities.

Gov. Pat McCrory touted the state's "Carolina Comeback" in manufacturing at the ribbon cutting for PEDS Legwear's new $16 million sock-manufacturing plant in Hildebran. Formerly Richelieu Legwear, the Canada-based company last year invested $7 million in a failing sock company and plans to create more than 205 jobs by 2018.